Roger de Swinnerton (-c1298)
}} ''Collections for a History of Staffordshire, Volume 7'' "I meet with no further mention of this John de Swynnerton for his heirs, and the estate at Isewall, which was situate in the parish of Eccleshale, seems to have passed soon afterwards to his cousin Sir Roger de Swynnerton, of Swynnerton (the Baron), who died seised of it in 1338. We have seen that John de Swynnerton, Lord of Swynnerton, was dead in 1284, and in Michaelmas Term, 1285, Roger de Pywelesdon (Puleston) and Joan his wife, John de Whytemore, Adam son of William de Alsacher, Robert le Mareschal, and Gilbert son of Geoffrey de Aston, sued Roger son of Stephen de Uslewall of half the manor of Swynnerton, excepting one hundred and sixty (octies viginti) acres of wood in the same manor; and for two parts of fourteen messuages and five virgates of land with appurtenances, excepting twenty acres of wood and 50s. of rent in Beche, of which John de Swynnerton, their kinsman (consanguineus), whose heirs they are, was seised in demesne as of fee on the day of his death, and who died, etc. And Roger appeared and defended his right, and denied that John de Swynnerton, their kinsman, died seised of the tenements in question, because he had given the said tenements long before his death to him (Roger), by his deed which he produced; and he made one Philip de Mutton, his attorney, to put him in seisin of them. He produced letters of attorney to that effect, and appealed to a jury. The Sheriff was ordered to summon a jury for Hillary term. A postscript states that the case was adjourned from Hillary to Easter and from Easter to Michaelmas, through defect of juries, because all put on the panel were challenged. At the same assizes of 1285 Roger de Pyweleson and Joan his wife, John de Whytemore, Adam son of William de Alsacher, Robert le Mareschl and Gilbert son of Geoffrey de Aston, sued Roger son of Stephen de Uslewall and Muriel the widow of John de Swynnerton for eighty acres of wood in Swynnerton and Beche, of which John de Swynnerton, their kinsman, whose heirs they are, was seised as of fee, etc. when he died. Roger and Muriel appeared and stated that same as in last suit, and appealed to a jury. The Sheriff was ordered to summon a jury for Hillary term. A postscript states that after several adjournments a jury gave a verdict at Easter term, 14 Edw. I. (1286), and stated that Roger and Muriel were in good seisin of the tenements during the lifetime of John. The verdict is therefore for the defendants. And in 14 Edw. I., Roger son of Stephen de Uselwalle gave a mark for a writ of 'recordari'. But the differences between them were not yet finally disposed of; for at Michaelmas Assizes of 14-15 Edw. I. (1286), the Sheriff of Staffordshire was ordered to take with him four discreet and lawful Knights of his county, and in propria persona to proceed to the court of Edmund the King's brother, at Newcastle-under-Lyme, and in full court there to be recorded the suit which was in the Court by the King's write between John de Wytemore, Adam son of William de Allesager, Roger de Pyvelesdon and Joan his wife, Robert le Marischal, and Gilbert son of Geoffrey de Aston, plaintiffs, and Roger son of Stephen de Useleswell, tenant of four messuages and four bovates of land with the appurtenances in Great Chelle, as to which the said Roger son of Stephen complained that a false judgment had been given; and to have the record in Court at this term, together with four legal men of the same Court who were presented at the record. And John and the others now appeared, and William de Mere, Geoffrey de Kokenegge, Thomas de Baddeleye and Richard du Lee, the four men of the Court to whom the record had been entrusted to product it in Court, never came. The Sheriff is therefore ordered to distrain and pruduce them on the morrow of the Purification, and the same day is given to the other parties. At the ensuing Hillary Term, however, Roger son of Stephen de Useleswell, who brought a write of false judgment against John de Wytemore, Adam son of William de ALlesager, and others, did not appear to prosecute it, and the suit is dismissed. In 16 Edw. I. Roger de Swynnerton gives half a mark for a writ of ad terminum. At Michaelmas, 1288, Roger son of Stephen de Swyneemerton (Swynnerton) gave 40s for licence of concord with Roger de Pyulesdon and Joan his wife in a plea of convention, and they have a chirograph. Roger son of Stephen de Swynnerton appears to here as compaintant against Roger de Pywelesdon and Juliana (Joan) his wife, deforciants, in a plea concerning the ninth part of the manor of Swynnerton, Beche and Chelle, which deforciants acknowledged to belong to complaintant, and they remitted the same to complaintant for ever. For this acknowlegment complaintant gave deforciants one sore sparrow-hawk. This is the last we hear of those claiming to be the right heirs of John de Swynnerton. How they were related to him I have hitherto been unable to ascertain. In Trinity Term, 18 Edw. I. (1290), Roger de Swynnerton is in misericordia for several defaults (of appearance). He was attached to answer the plea of Robert Chelle, that he, with John de Cherleton, James de Hayton, William son of William de Cherleton, and Gibert de Swynnerton, had ill-treated, taken and imprisoned at Swynnerton, the said Robert Chelle on Monday after the Feast of St. James, 17 Edw. I. (1289), and detained him a prisoner for fifteen days, until he was delivered by the King's precept, for which he claimed 100s damages. Roger appeared and denied the injury and stated that after the death of Richard, the brother of Robert Chelle, who had held of him a messuage and virgate of land in Chelle, in villeinage, the said Robert had fined 30s for entry into the same tenement to be held in villeinage of him, and because he had refused to pay the fine, he had taken him as his villein, and put him into gaol, as it was lawful for him to do. At the same assizes he appears as juror on a Grand Assize of Knights to try a suit between Peter de Arderne and the Canons of Lichfield, respecting meadow land in Elford. In 19 Edw. I., Roger de Swynnerton, John de Hasting, Philip Nauel, Robert de Cotes, John de Whitmore, Reginald Charles, Roger Burgillion, Richard de Lee, Stephen de Okele, John son of Stephen de Swynnerton, and William Badenhale gave one mark to have a writ of pone. In the same year Roger de Swynnerton fines half a mark to have a writ of ad terminum. At the Staffordshire Assizes held before the Justices Itinerant on 7th January, 1293, Sir Roger de Swynnerton is one of the four Knights summoned to elect a jury. At the same assizes he is on a jury of Grand Assize in a suit between John de Arderne and John Fynch. Again he appears thereat in another character; Robert de Halghton sued Roger, Bishop of Coventry and Luchefeld, for the advowson of the Church of High Offley, stating that a certain Thomas, his ancestor, had been seised of it in the time of King John. The Bishop appeared by his attorney, and denied the seisin of the said Thomas, and offered to defend his right by the body of his freeman Thomas son of William, who was present, etc.; and Robert offered to deraign his right by the body of his freman Robert son of William, who was present, etc. It is therefore determined that a duel should be fought between them. The sureties of Thomas (the Bishop's champion) are Henry Mauveysin and Roger de Swynnerton, and the sureties of Robert (Robert de Haughton's champion) are Thomas Corbet and William Wyther. At the same assizes Roger de Swynnerton, Reginald de Snockestones, Richard de Swynnerton, and John de Trentham are charged with unjustly disseising John son of Philip de Blakelowe of common of pasture and moor in Swynnerton appurtenant to his free tenement in Blakelowe. Roger stated that he had approved the pasture and moor, and that John son of Philip had sufficient pasture for his tenement; and the jury found in his favour. At the same assizes Nicholas de Audeleye withdrew his assize of mort d'ancestor against Roger de Swynnerton respecting a tenement in Coldnorton. The above Roll is endorsed: Isti remaned coronatores in comitatu isto, videlicet, Henricus de Craswell, Rogerus de Swynnerton, Henry Clericus de Alrewas, et Willielmus de Wrotteslee; which is explained by General Writtesley to mean that probably these four had been coroners before the previous iter, or before the statute of 2 Edw. I. which ordained that none but Knights should be elected coroners; and some of these, he tells us, were not yet Knights. Sir Roger de Swynnerton appears once more at the gaol delivery for the county of Stafford in 1293, with Vivian de Standon and others, as surety to produce Margaret de Bagenholt to stand to her trial for receiving and horbouring Stephen de Bagenholt her son (who had been outlawed). At the same time he is one of the sureties of Philip de Mutton, coroner, for the payment of a fine of 5 marks in which he has been mulcted. In 1294, Roger de Swynnerton, Knight, is appointed assessor and collector in the county of Stafford of the tenth granted in the Parliament at Westminster on the morrow of St. Martin, 12th November, his commision being tested on the same day. He was dead early in 1298, having been King's coroner at the time of his decease, and on 8th February of that year the King's close writ is issued to the Sheriff to cause another coroner to be elected in his stead. He left a widow Joan surviving him and several sons, of whom Roger, the eldest, was still in his minority. I believe his wife Joan to have been a daughter of Sir Robert de Hastang of Chebsey, Knight."